Perfect Song Thursday: LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends”

If one were to believe the teachings of Michael Leyton, that all art is simply a conveyance of outward movement (or “emotions” for those out of the loop), then where would music stand? My opinion on the matter is that, like art, the best music has the power to move a person without trying. This is dependent on location, time, previous emotion, and any other factor one can think of as well, but I feel a truly great song can break through no matter what the circumstance…

So this song should be known a bit more well known than others I write about, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do it anyway. My blog, punks. That aside, LCD Soundsystem is the work of James Murphy, who’s in charge of the DFA label blah blah blah here’s why this song is amazing…

First off, few songs can hold your attention for seven minutes. That’s a feat in itself. On top of this, the song builds into epicness and doesn’t really start until over a minute in, slowly adding instruments and getting more intense all the way there. The drums tease you and whips crack to let you know something big is coming. Then Mr. Murphy drops in with the happiest melancholy melody one’s ever heard. That’s only the first two minutes…

By all accounts this song should make you cry. It’s about growing old, losing friends, making retrospectively bad decisions, and missing the past. But when you listen to it again, it turns into a song about going out, having fun, not regretting past decisions (for another five years of life), and treasuring time spent with people loved more than anything else in the world. Wow.

The perfect thing about this song is not just the drive or the gorgeous lyrics, but how you can take any emotion you want from it. If you want it to be happy, it will be, and vice versa. What’s cool is that when the song is played low, it sounds much more subdued and nostalgic. Loud, on the other hand, turns it into a massive fist pumper, perfect for the last song of any night out, and a good reminder as to why we thrive on relationships and spend our lives surrounded by people who mean the world to us, even when they’re not right next to us.

The band just came out with a new album, This Is Happening, so go buy it at their myspaces… Here are the lyrics for you to gaze at!

PS – I just learned that one of the lines is “When you’re drunk and the kids leave impossible tasks,” not “When you’re drunk and the kids look impossibly tan.” Hahaha, it totally works both ways. Wow I feel New Jerseyan.

That’s how it starts
We go back to your house
We check the charts
And start to figure it out

And if it’s crowded, all the better
Because we know we’re gonna be up late
But if you’re worried about the weather
Then you picked the wrong place to stay
That’s how it starts

And so it starts
You switch the engine on
We set controls for the heart of the sun
one of the ways we show our age

And if the sun comes up, if the sun comes up, if the sun comes up
And I still don’t wanna stagger home
Then it’s the memory of our betters
That are keeping us on our feet

You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan
And the next five years trying to be with your friends again

You’re talking 45 turns just as fast as you can
Yeah, I know it gets tired, but it’s better when we pretend

It comes apart
The way it does in bad films
Except in parts
When the moral kicks in

Though when we’re running out of the drugs
And the conversation’s winding away
I wouldn’t trade one stupid decision
For another five years of life

You drop the first ten years just as fast as you can
And the next ten people who are trying to be polite
When you’re blowing eighty-five days in the middle of France
Yeah, I know it gets tired only where are your friends tonight?

And to tell the truth
Oh, this could be the last time
So here we go
Like a sales force into the night

And if I made a fool, if I made a fool, if I made a fool
on the road, there’s always this
And if I’m sewn into submission
I can still come home to this

And with a face like a dad and a laughable stand
You can sleep on the plane or review what you said
When you’re drunk and the kids leave impossible tasks
You think over and over, “hey, I’m finally dead.”

Oh, if the trip and the plan come apart in your hand
Tou look contorted on yourself your ridiculous prop
You forgot what you meant when you read what you said
And you always knew you were tired, but then
Where are your friends tonight?

Where are your friends tonight?
Where are your friends tonight?

If I could see all my friends tonight
If I could see all my friends tonight
If I could see all my friends tonight
If I could see all my friends tonight

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About Myself

Hey there! My name's Chris and I'm from New Jersey. Music is kinda my thing, so I figured 'why not write about it?' I hope to spread music that isn't radio garbage, no matter how obscure. I promise not to be too biased (no hipster BS here!) and to keep an open mind, and I ask that you do too. Enjoy!

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